The storm was coming As clouds grew dark And ominous shadows Played games with our hearts.
As the procession came With a mix of anger and cries And our dear Lord Carried the world in His eyes.
As His surroundings Seemed to melt away All He could see Were the souls who’d be saved.
While others shrieked and agonized Knowing our Lord would soon die He bore on with single purpose For the sake of our lives.
All around us Many cheered As the Son of God Slowly drew near.
We could not believe That this was the end But in the depths of His heart He saw amber dawn ahead.
Hours moved on In a sickenly . . . slowness While He bore the pain That rightly belonged to us.
As all we could see Was the darkness and pain Yet, His eyes showed no doubt Amber dawn would rise again.
While the pains of the moment Were clouding our hearts We simply couldn’t bear That from us He must part.
As the thunder roared And the curtain was split In the depths of our souls We knew this was it.
The time had come As the very earth shuttered And we heard from His lips The last words He would utter.
Before darkness descended Both around and within How could we know That amber dawn would rise again?
And on that third day While we were unaware Amber dawn began to rise Swiftly filling the air Bringing with it The hope of a new day As our Savior arose Taking the darkness away.
For the light of the amber dawn Had become increasingly bright As it ushered in the Lord And Savior of our lives.
Now never again Would we need to live in fear For amber dawn would remind us That He is always near.
Within the darkness, God’s love within us shines brighter.
We thrive in the midst of cracks that life sends our way For when it is truly dark, our light still remains To see us through the hard times, the sad times and the pain As we allow God to further grow us into the beauty that He’s made.
Just as a child comes into the world, often starting with a cry It is often our struggles that truly make us thrive For when we are pushed beyond what it is that we desire It’s then that what’s within us starts truly turning into a fire.
One that ignites justice One that brings warmth One that allows others to gather and to be close One that provides a source to guide us along the way One that reminds us that our light has something to say One that speaks louder when so much may seem dark One that draws us to singing around the glory of its sparks For as the fire grows, we see the cracks for what they are They are there to let us know that God is never far The light that’s within was never meant to be kept small For we are meant to BE LOVE in the darkness most of all.
So often, we humans can focus too much on the negatives of life, because they dare to tear us down.
We are thrilled when good things happen in our lives, but we also cling to wanting our lives to be full of good times and peace. While we realistically know that the bad moments are also a part of life, we can’t help but want to avoid the pain that comes along with those times.
“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” – John 10:10
Every time I read this passage, I’m reminded of God’s mercy to us. Let me explain.
I spent many years of my life with asthma. At times, it was so debilitating. More than once, I came near death. I’ll never forget being asked by a paramedic, weeks after a massive asthma attack who not only treated me, but knew me, “I didn’t want to tell you this in the middle of helping you, but there’s still one thing I don’t understand. On that day, we couldn’t figure out how you were awake, how you were communicating with us [I used body language to get them to give me paper & pen to do this.], how you were even alive. How did you do that?”
I wasn’t certain what he wasn’t telling me, so after asking him what was so unusual about that, he replied, “Everything we had you hooked up to, every one of them showed your oxygen levels were at zero. Not only should you not have been able to communicate with us, but all signs pointed to the fact that you should not have even been conscious, let alone alive!”
That’s when I answered him with, “Well, let me tell you more of my story and my God.” Without Him, without my Lord, that miraculous situation never would have happened. While I don’t know why God used that health situation to occur, my life with Him has shown me over and over and over again, that He is good, that He is love and that His plans are always for our good. I give God glory for using me, even in that time, to touch the life and soul of another for Him.
Something that could have killed me, gave me an even stronger appreciation for being alive.
Since last March, it’s been even harder to avoid the negatives of life. Having lost loved ones and having seen so much grief on various fronts, I am all the more grateful for God who has never left my side. I say all of this as a known optimist, but I am also not naive and have had many situations throughout life that have dared to tear me down many times.
In spite of the ups and down, I still have a passion for life.
Just last week, the world celebrated Easter . . . the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ.
While Jesus had disciples who learned and did so much from Him and with Him, prior to Jesus’ death on the cross, they found life much more abundantly in the years they had afterwards. They were able to travel to various locations, preaching the Good News to so many. Miracles occurred again and again. However, their stories cannot be told without also knowing that they each experienced what we would call negatives in life.
While that was so long ago, I can’t help but see that they felt more alive than ever before. How? Because, even after all of my own painful life experiences, God has shown me through all of my life that the great moments in life are that much sweeter. The great moments in life aren’t as powerful, without also knowing the other side. Life is fabulously amazing, because He lives.
Because He lives, the art and beauty of this world and universe exist.
Because He lives, we get to have others to love and to be loved, in return.
Because He lives, we are still in awe when we see an amazing sunrise or sunset, when we hear the laughter of children, when someone says or does just the right thing when we need it most and when we experience the joy of God through it all.
Because He lives, we know the negative parts of life are not all that exist.
Because He lives, we have those who provide healing for the mind and body.
Because He lives, we have churches that remind us that we are meant to live in community, we are here for a purpose and we are wondrously loved and wanted.
Because He lives, we have teachers who spend time helping others to find themselves, to learn, to connect and to find their passions.
Because He lives, we can get back up again after traumas that will forever remind us that life is fragile, but there is still so much abundance of life giving moments ahead for us . . . HOPE.
Because He lives, we live. That’s something to rejoice over.
Life is meant to be fully lived. While trials may come, never forget the joys of being alive.
JUST BREATHE
For while I have breath I know I am alive For while I have breath I enjoy the beauty of life For while I have breath I can embrace another For while I have breath I am a wife and a mother For while I have breath I can sing and dance For while I have breath I can take another chance For while I have breath I can live my passions For while I have breath I can provide compassion For while I have breath I can dream great dreams For while I have breath I have faith in the unseen For while I have breath I can make this world better For while I have breath God always holds me together For every breath that I will ever breathe I will know I was created By the King of kings.
Being alive will always have its heartaches, but one thing I have learned from knowing how quickly one’s breath can be taken from them, is to never take a single inhale/exhale for granted. Never believe that we don’t matter. Never lose sight of hope. For within each breath we take, there are so many moments we are meant to be a part of and wonderful people whose lives are meant to intersect with ours. Every breath is a reminder of life, because He lives.
Don’t allow the hardships of life to tear you down. For we are more than just ourselves. There is purpose. We were made with strength. We were made with love. We were made to live life abundantly.
With every breath, know that you are alive for far greater things and with each breath your breathe you are walking further into your destiny. So never forget how each inhale and exhale matters. YOU MATTER!
A selfie I took of myself in April of this year during the pandemic lockdown. Through all of life’s ups and downs, miracles still happen.
Christmas began over 2000 years ago When a miracle came to Earth And ever since our Savior came We are reminded of His miracle birth And here I exist in this world we live Knowing miracles continue to be For I’ve been healed in a number of ways By the One who I can feel within me I’ve seen prayers answered in mysterious ways Giving us a child who made our family more whole If not for the fact that He truly lives This part of our story could not be told And if this Christmas, in this world we live, It’s a struggle to see miracles exist Look at the eyes and hearts of each child Because within them believing just is For as each December comes along In spite of the unrest all around A Savior reminds us that miracles happen And for ALL, there’s hope to be found.
WORSHIP MUSIC IS A POWERFUL GATEWAY TO BREAKTHROUGHS. May you be blessed by these two songs that relate so well with the poem above.
Life.Church just released a new album this week and this song really encapsulates this time and a reminder that God is the God of Hope and will NEVER let go of us.
No matter how dark it gets, God’s light is still stronger. As one line in this song says, “The darkest night, You can light it up.”
Rachel's Reflections 